I'm thinking of opening a music/fashion store for ALL types of musicians here in the next year while I work on the nightclub plans (with the mentoring and the time devotion it's turning quickly into a five year plan). I gotta ask a few questions though:

Any musicians here?
Do you play locally or professionally?
Would a one-stop instrument and wardrobe store appeal to you?
Would you like to see cd's and local bands cd's for sale there?
What about music videos?
Would you also like to have a small stage available to book for small concerts and parties?

Can you think of any other questions I should be asking?

Please post ANY comments or ideas... THANK YOU ALL!!!!

sounds like a WalMart for music afficianados; we don't have enough small stages for local bands; not sure about the fashion end of things; you may need to fine tune your business plan and major on fewer things, all the best!

Exactly why I'm asking now so I can get potential consumer feedback. The fashion side would be tailored to not only musicians but also fans, offering band shirts, and all the accessories you'll need.

Sounds like a great idea - if your thinking along the small stage lines, how about a small cafe/coffee/sitting/relaxing/listening area as well?

I think CD's would be great, maybe both known and unknown - if a local band puts out a good one highlight it for a while. You could also highlight your "usuals" favs.

If your going instruments also - don't forget sheet music. Lots of people love to play but need some help in the knowing what notes to play area.

The clothing area also sounds sweet! You can start out small and then customize as you begin to know your customers!

Where in Florida are you?

Any musicians here?
Yes. I play piano, guitar, drums, bass guitar.

Do you play locally or professionally?
Not at the present moment.

Would a one-stop instrument and wardrobe store appeal to you?
Not at all, but I'm not a fashion follower anyway. I'm perfectly happy with stores such as Target, Old Navy, Gap, etc.

Would you like to see cd's and local bands cd's for sale there?
Local bands are very interesting, but I prefer to buy local music at shows to support the band or download online. I'm not a big CD buyer anymore.

What about music videos?
I wouldn't buy DVDs at the store. I'd download them so I can watch them on my laptop or iPod.

Would you also like to have a small stage available to book for small concerts and parties?
Now that might be appealing to me and I'm sure to others. The problem would be establishing your niche. You might not attract sufficient crowds if you were too eclectic in the styles of music you presented. In other words having a local punk band play one weekend followed by a string quartet the next might confuse your customers.

Can you think of any other questions I should be asking?
Nothing comes to mind. You have a very interesting idea, however. You should start thinking about how you would market your store. You'd probably want to advertise in alternative media outlets and hand out flyers at local shows. You should also ask local bands to link to your web site from their sites or MySpace or Virb sites. "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" works best in local indie scenes. Good luck.

We have a store sorta like this here. They also have a small recording studio for local artists trying to get their stuff out. They also sell tickets to bigger musical events in the area.

I play pretty much all the same stuff Homestar does. Guitar is my main passion. I've been playing almost 15 years. I've been in numerous bands around the Little Rock area. I don't care about the clothes, but that could be a cool idea for the younger kids. Band shirts and what not. I'm sure you could sell some leather and appeal to bikers and such. CD's would be cool and dvd's of local bands would be cool. You would have to make sure you could sell the stuff at the same cost as they could get it at Best Buy or focus on harder to find items that would attract those customers. The stage would be cool, but I agree with Homestar that you would probably have to attract a certain type of band. It sounds like a cool idea, but it is a lot of different ideas all in one store. It sounds like a Guitar Center, Best Buy, Hot Topic, and club all in one.

Any musicians here?
I am an aspiring guitar player

Do you play locally or professionally?
I can't wait to show off, but I don't know a note yet.

Would a one-stop instrument and wardrobe store appeal to you?
Definately!

Would you like to see cd's and local bands cd's for sale there?
Totally. I love music the mainstream hasn't heard of yet.

What about music videos?
MTV doesn't show videos anymore, so I'd check it out!

Would you also like to have a small stage available to book for small concerts and parties?
I'd show up for some shows. I'd be fun, and a great date!

Also, if you are interested in making it a live music venue, you should have a bar. That would be interesting. You could shop for clothes and instruments while drinking!

Ooh... I like th idea of a studio! That may have to come after a while though.

Sounds awesome. By the way Wes. How is your mother, Dorothy Mantooth? I'd like to take her out to a nice seafood dinner then never call her again!

Bad idea, probably a bad business plan, Pirate. Tower Records went BK recently - that was the place to go for music, even in LA - adding "wardrobes" would not have helped them.

I doubt that there will be any music stores in the future - the internet will take care of music needs.

Just don't do it!

I think a recording studio might be a great idea. However, be careful, Pirate. You would need to make sure you had sufficient quality of equipment, software, and instruments, plus you would need an engineer who really knows what he or she is doing. If it takes off, a recording studio might take as much time (or more) to manage than the store.

_X_, I think Pirate's business model is to sell primarily to musicians, not the general music consumer. I agree that traditional record stores are on their way out. They will eventually be unable to compete with the iTunes and Wal-Marts of the world.

But musicians are always looking for places to buy equipment they need. Most serious musicians will not buy instruments over the internet. They want to actually play an instrument before they buy it, so I think there will always be a place for retail music equipment stores.

If Pirate remembers his primary audience is musicians, followed by folks who are interested in music culture and a place to hear local music, it just might work. I think it's a risky venture, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The idea of the coffee bar with refreshements is cool too, especially if we're throwing a concert. =D

Too right. Yes, my primary focus will be musicians and up-start talents to give them a place to purchase decent equipment, accessories and get their name out. The internet does make it easier for bands to promote themselves which is why we'll work in tandem with bands advertising their MySpace pages and other outlets.

Oh yeah.... hence something like that being way down the road.

Why don't you just open up like a music club and add all the other things as extras, like have different sections, like a best buy that's a club, one section for sheet music, etc.

Eventually I would like to open more of a nightclub, but the expense makes it a bit out of my reach at the moment so getting started in a more retail market with the entertainment as additional income would be a bit safer.... We gotta start small so we can pour a lot into getting our name out and getting quality stuff at affordable prices. I'm going to be doing a LOT of market research in order to tailor the shop to the area's wants.

She's doing great! She misses you though!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained my friend. I plan on actually using the internet and it's ease of allowing new bands to become known to our advantage. I'm not fearing the new tech... I'm embracing it. Besides, it's mostly going to cater to actual musicians, not music pirates like myself. There'll always be some kid who's saving up for their first guitar, always a need for accessories for instruments (we'll even carry band equipment and such and advertise with the local highschools). And if I fail.. at least I tried. Life is all about risk, and believe me I'll have a fall back plan, hence all the liquidity on ideas at the moment. It's going to be tailored to the tastes of the local populous, not just what I think would be cool.

If you're looking at getting in with the highschools, you might want to consider a larger stock of rental instruments. A lot of kids are just trying things out - a place where they could rent (and possible take or get info on lessons) would be really helpful!

If you're looking at getting in with the highschools, you might want to consider a larger stock of rental instruments. A lot of kids are just trying things out - a place where they could rent (and possibly take or get info on lessons) would be really helpful!

Dually noted. Pun intended. Yeah, we're looking into old instrument stock and repairs and whatnot. We're going small at first... we'll look at expanding to other venues in greater capacity if it takes off.

Musicians are a pretty flaky bunch, generally speaking. The one's who have made it will have direct access to custom stuff, the one's that have not will go to Pirate's store, ask for credit and disappear. Pirate will file BK and return to banking.